1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of toys and novelty items including scale models and miniatures of larger items. More specifically the present invention relates to a miniature vehicle such as an automobile or a truck, including a chassis with support wheels, a hollow shell body, an electric motor of conventional design drivably connected to a rear support wheel, a battery and a power supply circuit for delivering electric current to the motor including an activation duration setting module timed by the draining of liquid from a module vessel. A lift mechanism is preferably provided to elevate the rear wheels while the liquid is being poured into the vessel, to permit complete filling of the vessel without spillage and to cause a wheel spinning burn-out or wheel standing acceleration.
The module is seated within the vehicle body, and the liquid is poured into the vessel through a filling tube made to resemble a gasoline fill tube. The presence of a sufficient quantity of the liquid in the vessel causes the power circuit terminals to make electrical contact with each other and thereby completes the power circuit, activating the motor, and the circuit remains complete and the motor activated until enough of the liquid has drained from the vessel to decrease the quantity of the liquid to a level below the sufficient quantity, and thereby causes the power circuit terminals to electrically disconnect.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toy and miniature vehicles containing electrical and mechanical power sources and having drive wheel elevating launch structures have been known for several years.
Morrison, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,607, issued on Nov. 23, 1971, discloses a self-propelled toy vehicle. The Morrison, et al. vehicle has a single supporting wheel which is also a flywheel. Energy is stored in the flywheel by wrapping a cord around the flywheel axle and pulling the cord. The flywheel is elevated from the vehicle support surface during cord pulling by a launching structure. The launching structure includes a platform having a pair of spaced-apart and parallel vertical support walls. The vehicle is placed on the launcher so that lateral portions of the vehicle rest on the support walls. The flywheel axle cord is pulled and, while the flywheel is spinning, a lever on the launching structure is pivoted against the rear of the vehicle to push it off the support walls for rapid acceleration. Morrison, et al. lacks the appeal of realism, because one stores power in a full-scale, actual vehicle by pouring gasoline into it, not by pulling a cord wound around an axle.
Strongin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,756, issued on Apr. 16, 1974, reveals a toy vehicle and a vehicle launching device. Strongin includes a toy automobile containing a flywheel for storing rotational energy, and a launching device which elevates the flywheel from the support surface and spins the flywheel. The launching device includes a ramp on which the vehicle is placed, an electric motor connected to a clutch which releasibly engages and spins a laterally directed shaft on the vehicle which in turn imparts rotational speed to the flywheel. The vehicle is slid laterally on the ramp toward the clutch, and sliding in this direction causes follower elements to ride upwardly on a cam ramp surface and elevate the vehicle and its flywheel. After rotational energy is stored, the vehicle is slid laterally in the other direction and the configuration of the cam surface lowers the vehicle and flywheel into contact with the ramp support surface for quick acceleration. The problem of Morrison, et al. is again presented because one does not power a real vehicle by placing it on a flywheel spinning launching device. Another problem is that the ramp launching device is not part of the vehicle and must be kept together with at all times. Still another problem is that the ramp launching device is probably as costly to produce as the vehicle itself and thus significantly elevates not only the vehicle but also its sales price.
Ieda, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,682, issued on Jun. 3, 1975, teaches a toy motorcycle and launching structure much like that of Strongin. The toy motorcycle is placed on the ramp of the launch structure, the drive wheel is elevated and a motor-powered gear protruding from the ramp engages and spins a gear in the motorcycle. The gear in the motorcycle is connected to a flywheel which gathers rotational energy to drive the motorcycle. When enough energy has been stored, the drive wheel is lowered and the motorcycle accelerates rapidly off the ramp. The problems of Strongin are again presented.
Hart, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,342, issued on Apr. 16, 1985, discloses a winding and launching device for toy vehicles. The Hart, et al. winding and launching device includes a base covered by a shell. The shell has an outwardly projecting shaft adapted to mate with a coupling on a flywheel-driven toy vehicle for rotating the flywheel. The shaft is rotated at high speed through a step-up gearing arrangement with a crank positioned on the shell. A button protrudes from the shell and is connected to a platform which holds the shaft in place, and depressing the button pulls the shaft from the vehicle coupling so that the vehicle is freed to speed away. The problems of Strongin are still again presented.
A series of patents issued to Goldfarb, et al. teach variations of a toy vehicle and launching structure, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,186 issued on Dec. 14, 1982 for a toy motorcycle and launcher; U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,554, issued on Jul. 2, 1985, for a toy motorcycle and launching apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,290, issued on Feb. 15, 1983, for a wheeled turbine-powered toy vehicle and launcher apparatus; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,886, issued Feb. 12, 1985, for a wheeled turbine-powered toy vehicle and launching apparatus. Each of these patents discloses a toy vehicle containing a flywheel which is spun to store energy, either by blowing air into a turbine assembly or by pulling a toothed rack over a gear. Each further includes a flywheel or drive wheel elevating launching structure. The several problems of Hart et al. are presented.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an electric motor powered miniature vehicle which is activated by pouring a liquid from a miniature gasoline can shaped container into an opening in the vehicle body resembling a fuel opening on an actual full-scale vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a vehicle for which the activation duration is selectable in direct proportion to the quantity of liquid poured into the fuel opening with a removable and replaceable module.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a vehicle which includes means integral with the vehicle for elevating the drive wheel during liquid pouring so that pouring is not interrupted by vehicle acceleration, which also rapidly lowers the drive wheel for an exciting spinning wheel patch-out start.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a vehicle which is entertaining, sturdy, long-lived and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.